Government Directs Public Sector Banks to Stay Open on Sunday Ahead of Strike

New Delhi: In order to minimise disruption to the genuine banking needs of the public, the Government has directed public sector banks to stay open on Sunday, a day before the start of the proposed 3-day countrywide strike by bank staff from September 28 to 30.

"In view of the proposed three-day nationwide bank strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) from September 28 to 30, coinciding with the preceding weekend holidays of September 26 and 27, the government has taken proactive steps to safeguard the banking needs of citizens," a Finance Ministry statement said.

This has helped to reduce the disruption in economic activity due to the timing of the strike, which otherwise would have stretched across five days since Saturday and Sunday were both bank holidays.

The UFBU and certain other unions of public sector banks as well as Regional Rural Banks have called for a series of strikes in support of their demand for implementation of a five-day banking week, and withdrawal of the Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. Currently, bank staff get two Saturdays off in a month, but bank unions want the remaining two Saturdays to be off as well.

The Finance Ministry said that the welfare and convenience of bank customers remains the government's foremost priority. The government and bank managements have appealed to unions to defer the proposed strike, and have also taken measures to ensure that essential banking services continue uninterrupted, the statement added.

The government has appealed to employees of public sector banks and regional rural banks to call off their proposed strike as the government has already fulfilled one of their main demands by holding the PLI scheme in abeyance.

Taking due note of the concerns raised, the government, after detailed discussion, decided to keep the PLI scheme in abeyance. This proactive initiative by the government fulfilled one of the two main demands of the unions, the Finance Ministry had said.

"Given that most concerns of the unions have been substantially addressed, that the remaining demand continues to be examined, and that the government continues to proactively introduce welfare measures for the banking workforce, bank employees are urged to refrain from resorting to strikes, work towards resolving issues through dialogue, and ensure that banking services remain uninterrupted," it said.